Dea Svensson | Allt levande hos honom är skört

We are happy to present Dea Svensson’s second solo exhibition at Berg Gallery, featuring a new series of small-scale ink drawings. Svensson’s work was last shown at the gallery in the solo exhibition Inland (2021).

Dea Svensson is known for his intimate and carefully executed ink drawings composed millimeter-thin lines and dots. The timeconsuming process of creating each image involves techniques such as cross-hatching and stippling, where the quantity, thickness and spacing of the lines are used to create depth and shadow. By allowing each stroke of ink to be distinctly visible, Svensson deliberately reveals the process of creation to the viewer.

In his second solo exhibition at the gallery, Dea Svensson delves into the realms of childhood fantasies and the psychology of creativity. Weaving together both real and imagined places, his newest body of work becomes a nostalgic exploration, merging personal memories with the places they once belonged to. The surroundings are inspired by the artist’s upbringing in Eringsboda in Blekinge county, a small community with only a few hundred inhabitants. Included in the exhibition are both dreamlike depictions of unpopulated buildings and woodland motifs alluding to something elevated and magical.

Reality and fiction merge as realistic settings are invaded by supernatural phenomena. Gräns (Border), Limbo (Limbo) and Början och slut (Beginning and End), are some of the titles in the exhibition reflecting this kind of ambiguity or duality. In a symbiotic union of personal memories, dreamscapes and myths, Svensson invites the viewer to explore the boundaries between the familiar and the unknown.

Dea Svensson (b. 1980) lives and works in Malmö, Sweden, and holds an MFA from Malmö Art Academy (2005–2010). Svensson presented his first solo exhibition at Berg Gallery in September 2021, and has previously exhibited at various galleries and museums in southern Sweden. Previous solo exhibitions include Galleri Sagoy, Malmö, Ronneby Konsthall, Galleri Svalan, Kalmar, and Karlskrona Konsthall. Additionally, his works have been included in group exhibitions at, among others, Kalmar Konstmuseum, Galleri Babel, Trondheim (NO), and Nybro Konsthall. In 2023, he was awarded a two-year studio grant from the City of Malmö and a one-year working grant from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. Svensson is represented in the collections of Region Skåne, Ronneby kommun, Region Kalmar, and Region Blekinge.